KOLKATA: Pigs are finally flying. Off the plates, as age-old ham, bacon and sausages. With political parties embroiled in meat politics, Bengalis are gorging on the arguably less contentious pork.
“Previously, only Christians bought pork, and the sale was limited to cold cuts like sausages and ham among Bengalis. But now we sell about 350 kg every week, which was around 250 kg a year ago,” says Rahul Khatick, co-owner of Chaman’s Pork Shop in Park Circus market, which has been selling pork for over a century.
Be it the traditional boiled Tripura Bharta or pork with bamboo shoots, pork lovers are pushing the limits and tasting various regional or international cuisines. To realise this common end, many pork loving groups are sprouting across the city, too, who bond over pork and more.
One such group, which has grown from five members to over 200, is The Porkaddicts. Initially a member of Facebook group Porkaholics, Ayan Ghosh, 41, loved the way people in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune met over events around pork. He always wanted to do similar events in Kolkata. In November last, their first meeting took place at the Tung Nam, a Chinese restaurant in Kolkata, where 30 people met and ate pork.
Buoyed by the response, Ghosh planned for another bigger meeting in January, this time in a five-star hotel. Here, a 20-course curated pork menu—comprising even an ice cream with bacon dips—was arranged for 50 people. “Our main intention is to have an authentic experience and taste unique dishes that are normally not available on the menu,” Ghosh claims. As the group got popular, Ghosh started a Facebook group called The Calcutta Porkaddicts, which has over 530 members. “For any get-together, our ideal size is 50-60 people. We want individuals with similar values and lifestyle to come together and have a good time over the meat they love,” he says.
In the coming months, Porkaddicts will have a Burmese pork lunch, a Bengali-Christian pork lunch, Coorgi pork dishes and an Anglo-Indian pork platter. Ghosh keeps the budget for each food outings between `500 and `1,500 per head.
There are also exotic pork pop-ups. advocacy and communications specialist Angona Paul throws exclusive pork pop-ups called The Pig Boss, serving unique regional and international pork dishes.
“Cold cuts are passé now and people are more open to have a taste of full-on pork meals consisting of different cuisines,” says Paul, who loves taking cooking classes abroad. Paul tested the waters while in Pune by starting a weekend takeaway order service for pork dishes, which was a hit. This egged her to open the Pig Boss, when she relocated back to her city.